12 (More) Movie Posters

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Thanks.

So much has happened since last Thanksgiving. I received my undergraduate degree, won a few film and journalism awards, and enjoyed Fingers’ (my latest short film) trip around the world. As I’ve come to expect, it was insanely/irrationally productive. Sitting down and putting it all into perspective is very difficult to do when I’m mashing the accelerator pedal. I’ve been rushing forward to build my skills and relationships, and taking on as much as possible, because I’m keenly aware I may never have the opportunity again.  I feel so happy and fortunate to have people support me so surely, even when I’m not so sure myself. I have lots to be thankful for, and I plan to add more things to the list in the next year. If you’re reading this and you know me personally, thank you for everything. If you don’t know me (and I’ve noticed a nice swell of visits lately from all over), thank you too. Hopefully you have more reason to stop by again soon.

#life

New Video Begins – "Electric"

This weekend I will be editing a new video — something for fun on the side. I shot the 1080P footage last week and decided to share 4 video stills here. The shots are without any extra tampering; this project will allow me some time to have fun and tinker with Apple Color. I’ve been itching to shoot something lately, so I scratched. I’m very happy with everything so far.

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Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972)

“On this river, God never finished his creation.”

SYNOPSIS

Werner Herzog’s legendary film, based on a true story, recreates the crazed, frightening voyage taken by Spanish conquistadors in search of the mythical golden city of El Dorado. Aguirre is a Spanish nobleman driven by ambition and greed, whose search up the Amazon River was doomed never to return.

COMMENTS

Overall, I thought the film was fascinating. It seems to be interesting mashup of Werner Herzog’s primary disciplines of narrative/documentary–its clearly a narrative story but the execution is handled totally like a documentary. In this film, it is very hard to separate the genres, and I would argue it relies most heavily on formal documentary conventions to tell the story.

It is mostly captured using a handheld camera (the common perception of documentary aesthetics these days) but the characters seem to be self aware. They “know” they are subjects in a movie. They know they are being watched. They break the fourth wall and address the viewer directly with their gaze at several points of the movie.

Apparently the flood sequence was something they didn’t plan so they adapted and improvised (as one would do in a documentary setting with no control over events as they happen). In fact, in between the brief stretches of dialogue/exposition seems to be a series of small actuality films that reflect the earliest documentary traditions i.e. filming basic everyday tasks and events like building rafts or traveling down mountains.

An acquaintance mentioned the full screen 4×3 aspect ratio, but I think it too is influenced by documentary or independent, non-studio precedent. I think Herzog was less concerned about that technical aspect rather than just getting it on celluloid–after all, they shot the film on a camera Werner had himself stolen. Perhaps he should have taken a few more minutes in the equipment locker and been more discerning…

I’d imagine making the film itself would be more of an artistic necessity–but it certainly crossed my mind in the first few minutes of the picture. We’re so spoiled with HD and 16×9! Watching a 35mm print would have been a plus but I’m happy I went. I have a feeling if I watched it at home I’d be bored out of my mind. The quieter pictures always play better big, to me at least…

#film

12 Movie Poster Designs

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Work & Play

I recently bought a PS3 Slim, which has been taking up a lot of my time with some pretty fun games (Batman: Arkham Asylum has been properly conquered, on to inFAMOUS next) and 1080P movies. I bought UP on Blu-ray and it looks absolutely incredible. I may be a product of the mid 80’s, but even I can recognize how far things have come. The film alone is pretty awesome (my 3 trips to AMC when it was in theatres can speak to this)- definitely a feat to jam in heavy existential “meaning-of-life” sentiments while also making it fun as well as funny.

At my full-time job at Vision Teleproduction, Inc., I have been editing a few videos for the college basketball Hall of Fame here in Kansas City. I’m going to the event this weekend, and hope I have the chance to meet Magic Johnson and Larry Bird (two players who are being honored) like I did with Drew Brees and Peyton Manning last spring. We’ll see. It’s always fun to work on sports projects and I’ve heard rumblings that it will air some time on ESPNU, so I’ll keep you posted with broadcast dates when I get them.

Oh, and if I didn’t have enough going on, I’ve started to work on a feature-length screenplay. It’s my first. I’ve challenged myself to have a full first draft by the end of January. Hopefully I can pull it off despite the cold, short winter days, where it is so easy to fall into lazy habits…

#life

Surprise Press

Our alternative weekly, the Pitch, wrote a blog post today about friend (and “Fingers” DP) Brad Hodgson’s new art/music project Biarchy. They were kind enough to post my first video contribution to the group. I plan on submitting another video in the future.

I did this video directly after watching James Toback’s arresting Tyson documentary. Now, with the barbarism of MMA fighters, its fascinating how swift the fall from grace has been for the once-revered “Sweet science.” Boxing is suddenly the tame alternative (after being petitioned for so long to be banned). Biarchy’s somber track “The Coldest” seemed like a fantastic fit. I love how the song dips into these moments that seem lethargic and melancholy, only to spring back into a temporary, artificial optimism. It sounded a bit like adrenaline in musical form, hopelessly attempting to keep the blood flowing.

My video tries to create this sort of “walk-down-memory lane” that reflects boxing’s full-circle evolution. It’s very clear from the opening frames that boxing was initially seen as some sort of novelty, some sort of joke or fad (C’mon. Boxing cats. Really?). Kids fight. Grownups fight. Cameras flash and the spectacle grows. The latter half reveals a more insidious side. Car wrecked brains scrambled by stiff hits to the head. The sport collapses. I think Tyson biting off Holyfield’s ear marked the beginning of the end for a once praised past-time.  I read an article recently that there is some boxing league that has its competitors play chess between rounds. If you somehow beat your opponent in chess (and remain on your feet), you win. We’re seeing that full-circle landing place for boxing–resorting to gimmicks to remain relevant.

Check it out the mention here: “Former In the Pines members form alliance of art and music with Biarchy”

Do check out Biarchy. They’re currently offering their entire album as a free download.

#projects